The online network X has provoked major outrage after individuals used its AI chatbot Grok to alter images of women by taking off their attire.
Several examples have emerged where the system has been employed to virtually strip women to show them in bikinis without consent, as well as to put them in inappropriate contexts.
Company Reaction and Legal Stance
XAI, the company responsible for Grok, did not respond to requests for comment, aside from an auto-reply message stating "legacy media lies".
A government representative stated that legislation is being proposed to prohibit image stripping software. Under a proposed law, anyone who distributed such tools would "face a jail term and heavy fines".
"X or Grok has the ability to stop these forms of abuse if they desired to," said Clare McGlynn, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Regulator Position and Tool Capabilities
The regulator Ofcom said technology companies must "consider the potential" of people viewing illegal content on their networks, but stopped short of confirming whether it was presently looking into X or Grok in regarding AI-generated images.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some premium features—which responds to X users' requests when they tag it in a post.
It is commonly used to give commentary or additional context to other posters' comments, but people on X are also capable of alter an uploaded image through its artificial intelligence picture modification tool.
History of Criticism and Rules
The tool has been faulted for allowing users to generate images and clips with explicit content and sexually suggestive content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in creating inappropriate material of public figures.
"X has been permitting the creation and sharing of these images for months without taking any steps and we have not witnessed any action by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service forbids "depicting likenesses of individuals in a sexually explicit manner".
In a statement, Ofcom said it was against the law to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or child sexual abuse material" and stated this covered explicit AI images created with AI.
It said platforms such as X were obligated to take "appropriate measures" to "minimize the risk" of users coming across illegal material on their services and to take down it quickly when they learn of it.